Alabama and Kentucky are in the same conference, but could they be any more different when it comes to their football programs?

The Alabama fan base was outraged this past winter when the Crimson Tide ended the season on a two-game losing streak with losses to Auburn and Oklahoma.

The Kentucky fan base was encouraged by the fact the Wildcats won two games in 2013.

Head coach Mark Stoops of Kentucky is relaxed enough to begin his SEC Media Days press conference with a joke: “I’d like to thank the Southeastern Conference for saving the best for last.”

The media was mildly surprised when Saban told any kind of jokes like when he said suggesting letting his infant granddaughter cry for a little while in her crib so she wouldn’t expect people to come running when she began crying was a mistake. Or the jab he had for the media when he left the podium.

“I know if we lost this many games, you would be on me,” Saban said. “I know you all pick a winner in the conference every year.

“I'm not saying who you picked this year [Alabama]. But last year you'd actually been wrong, you know, like 17 out of 21 times. Now you're wrong 18 out of 22. But you've also not picked the right team the last five years in a row. Every year that we've been fortunate enough to win the championship, you picked somebody else to win it. So just to let you know that we're evaluating you.”

Stoops talked about the obstacles his program had to get over just to hope to get to a bowl.

Saban talked about the obstacles student-athletes in his program had to overcome not to get complacent with competing for a national championship.

Stoops’ relaxation might be understandable to some. He’s got nothing to lose being picked last in the SEC East, which is viewed as the weaker of the two divisions. But he’s ready to lead his team to compete.

“Our players have put in the time,” Stoops said. “Our training staff has done a great job getting them prepared. We're physically better. Hopefully that will translate to more wins.”

Saban plans to prep his team to compete as well.

“We're a team that has a lot of question marks,” Saban said. “It's always our intent to do everything that we can to help our players be successful in every way, in their personal development as well as academically, being able to develop a career off the field, which is what is going to benefit them most in life, as well as their development as football players.

“That's what we're going to continue to try to do our best so that we can have the best possible program in the country.”

Even with the differences between the Crimson Tide and Wildcats, they still have their similar challenges.